Move, move, move your body

Want to go out and run with others? Fancy riding as part of a group? I've spotted several opportunities in our local area to get out, enjoy some exercise and socialize.

Screenshot of the BBC London’s article published on Wednesday 23rd April showing the Strava art work created by Queen’s Park Harriers.

Have you heard about Bill O’Connor? At almost 80, this former Queen’s Park Community School’s teacher from New Zealand is about to run his 45th marathon on Sunday. He’s been running the London Marathon every single year since the start of the athletic event in 1981. At the time, he was one of 6 255 runners on the finish line (compared with 53 000 last year).

After 15 marathons, Bill was awarded a free entry to all the following editions and has made the most of it since then. As a tribute, his friends from his local running club, Queen’s Park Harriers, ran a carefully chosen route that resulted in a drawing of Bill’s face on Strava. This fantastic illustration of the phrase ‘putting something (or rather someone) on the map’ went viral in the London press.

The quirky initiative got the attention of BBC London News and, on Tuesday, they even did a live report from Willesden Sports Centre’s running track during one the last training sessions ahead of Sunday’s London Marathon. The great amount of press coverage the tribute attracted will most probably lead to a surge in their membership numbers, especially as the club (founded in 1887!) is going out its way to make running more accessible and enjoyable to local people.

Since the start of this year, Queen’s Park Harriers’ members launched two projects to encourage residents to embrace running as part of their weekly routine. First, they kick started a midweek relaxed run in Queen’s Park every Wednesday evenings - Queen’s Park Social Run - and, earlier this month, they inaugurated a Sunday group jog in partnership with The Lexi Cinema and other local organisations. It’s called the Lexi Cinema Run Community and it’s running until the start of June.

There is something very special about moving together as a group that I get to experience regularly as part of the bike rides I have been co-organising since 2021. I was reminded about the power of moving at pace with a group when I visited Worcester for the 3rd Global Bike Bus Summit two weeks ago.

Participants of the 3rd Global Bike Bus Summit which took place in Worcester, England, on April 10th and 11th. Photo : Bike Worcester.

In Worcester, I had the privilege to exchange notes with fellow organizers from not only the UK but also Portugal, Spain, Austria, and the United States. This summit reinforced my belief in the transformative power of bike buses as a solution to various societal challenges. The timing was perfect as I was about to launch a new bike bus between Harlesden and Queen’s Park for children attending school in Queen’s Park. I got extra motivation from the group!

Now, of course, you are dying to join a running group, a cycling group or an exercise group in Brent, aren’t you?! To nudge you, I’ve listed a few groups and organisations that run physical activities in and around Harlesden where I live :

• Black Girls Do Run UK : set up in 2019 by Harlesden resident Tasha Thompson, BGDRUK is more than a running club, it’s a community! The group is affiliated with England Athletics and a registered charity. Its purpose is to inspire, encourage, and motivate Black women to run.

  

  Members of Black Girls Do Run UK in Gladstone Park for Park Run last Saturday. Photo : Black Girls Do Run UK

• Sports At The Heart (SATH) : SATH runs a full schedule of activities for children, young people and women across different locations in the south of Brent. They offer ⚽ football sessions for 9-14 years old girls on Saturdays in Roundwood School and Community Centre (RCC). They also run a women’s fitness session with creche (wow!) at the Granville Family Wellbeing Centre on Mondays.

• 👄🏃‍♀️Social Cycling Club : a friendly group of cyclists of all genders and ages getting together for leisurely and social rides in and around Brent - and further. “All experience levels are welcome - we support each other on the road to cycling!”

• Breeze Brent : a friendly group of women who enjoy cycling. They organise weekly Sunday rides from Roundwood Park. They meet up mid-morning in the park and go on long rides to different locations in and around London.

• Kensal Tri : a bunch of neighbours from across Kensal Rise, Queens Park, Willesden, Kilburn and Harlesden who want to help as many people as possible overcome barriers to enjoying fun exercise. They work with local gyms, personal trainers, clubs, generous local businesses to offer free and discounted run, swim, bike, walk, cardio opportunities.

• Walking for health : friendly walk in Gladstone Park. Every Friday between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. No need to register.

• Gladstone Park Run : a free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event. Walk, jog, run, volunteer – it's up to you! Every Saturday 9am. Register online here for your barrecode.

• Willesden Triathlon Club : I had to include WTC for the sole reason that their mission is to be “London’s friendliest triathlon club”. The founder, Kristin, started doing triathlon “after running (and partially walking!) her first 5k”. Inspiring!

• Brent Good Gym: a group of local residents who run, walk, or cycle to help out community projects and older people in Brent. They organise running-cum-helping sessions during the week and at the weekend as well.

  

  Tabitha Andy and Josh met in Willesden and enjoyed a jog to Queens Park earlier this month. They picked up 300 leaflets and met Lee to help us deliver them to the residents of Queens Park. Photo : Brent Good Gym.

  P.S: If you take part in any of the above group (or another local group) and you’d like to share your experience with me, please let me know! I am always curious to have some insight into local groups and organisations. : )

  P.P.S: four years ago, I read Jog On : How Running Saved My Life by Bella Mackie. The journalist and author took up running and discovered that it relieved her crippling anxiety. If you are looking for extra motivation to start or restart running, I highly recommend this book.

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🗞️ News

☪️ Brent Council-owned Muslim cemetery in Hertforshire was desecrated last week.

↳ Officers were informed on April 13 of ‘widespread damage’ to 85 grave plaques in Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery, all of which were in an area reserved for Muslim burials. Many of those affected marked the resting place of babies and young children. (Brent and Kilburn Times)

🏘️ How many affordable houses did Brent build last year?

↳ In a leaflet sent to households, Brent Council trumpeted that they had built 530 affordable over the 2024-2025 financial year. However, local resident Philip Grant submitted a Freedom Of Information (FOI) to the council that shows the figure is much lower than that. (Wembley Matters)

🏫 Brent is not on the lists (yet).

↳ No school in Brent features among the schools now serving free breakfast to children as part of the first phase of the free breakfast club initiative launched by the government ‘in the most disadvantaged communities in the UK’.

I find it very surprising that no school in Harlesden featured on the list given the number of children who live in poverty in the area. However, St Joseph’s RC Primary School has started giving a free bowl of cereals to children in Year 1 to Year 6 before class.

↳ Brent doesn’t feature on the list of the Mayor of London’s Greener School programme either. To be fair, only 38 schools across 16 London boroughs will receive funding through this pilot to fund solar panels, heat pumps etc.

Do not despair, however. We already have schools (and public buildings) equipped with solar panels. Thanks to Brent Pure Energy, QPCS, Malorees Schools and Harris Lowe Academy Willesden (formerly Capital City Academy) generate clean energy thanks to solar panels. The newly-built North Brent School on Neasden Lane is also equipped with solar panels.

🗓 Events

💷 Opportunities

Sufra is recruiting a self-employed Community Gardener (part time).

Brent Council has 27 job offers listed right now.